I have two more updates on the Pacific NW trip front:
1. Matt Singer and the great folks at Forward Montana have kindly booked me to speak at Fact and Fiction in Missoula on Thursday, July 23rd. All the details are here. Come on out for a lovely evening of discussion and the latest news from DC.
2. Adam and the good people at the Oregon Bus Project have expanded the fun of just me into me + Steve Novick + Carla Axtman = This Is Your Brain On Politics, a rousing discussion of creating change out of our existing tools. But never fear, it's still at Bipartisan Cafe, the venue that most fits my personality and message.
All the details are here, and the invitation is below the fold. Sunday, July 19th in Portland. Come on out and spread the word.
People dress in all sorts of outlandish outfits and play make-believe, some to frighten you and some to amuse, as they come to your homes and demand that you give to them.
Yes, it's the Presidential campaign.
And while I may see a lame joke in the parallel between Halloween and campaign politics, other more insightful activists saw an opportunity: and Trick-Or-Vote was born.
This action is innovative, effective...and should have been obvious: use the one day when people expect to open their doors to strangers to talk to them about voting...which is never more than 8 days after All Hallows' Eve. The good folks at the Oregon Bus Project have proven just how well it works. The story, as they tell it, is a compelling one:
In the mists of the year 2000, this dude was in Cincinnati helping a friend run for office. Halloween came along, so he dressed as a lawn sign and went door to door with his face covered in blue and the word VOTE.
One year later, that same young man convened his cohorts in fair Portland, Oregon, to drum up ideas about how to change the direction of politics and engage new people in the political process. That phalanx of friends stormed the political scene in Oregon in 2002 and on Halloween they decided to do together what the young man had done alone two years before. One of the friends proclaimed, "We won't trick or treat; we'll Trick or Vote."
In 2004, we did it again. This time the group was 800 strong in Portland alone.
Thousands now participate and the phenomenon has spread beyond Portland. It's a reminder of what we at DL believe: that politics should be fun...and easily can be.
And it's in the spirit of the day: after all, what's scarier than opening your door to a costume of Dick Cheney? (Obvious Answer: the real Dick Cheney.)
Yesterday, Chris Bowers admitted he hadn't sat through an entire Presidential debate this cycle...until Monday's YouTube-sponsored event.
What changed this time? I watched it with a couple of beers, a few friends who do not work full-time in politics but who provided lots of running commentary, and at least some amusing YouTube questions.
Booze + buddies + banter = an entertaining evening = political engagement.
This isn't a new discovery. The Boston Tea Party was planned in a tavern after a night of a little too much Sam Adams (the man, not the beer, but you get the point). Drinking Liberally and other organizations frequently use the social draw of a night out to build real political communities.
Are a couple drinks and some funny YouTube questions simply gimmicks? The Daily Show playfully suggested as much last night when they lampooned a Drinking Liberally Debate Watch Party.
Of course, Monday's event wasn't the first attempt to try to liven up political discourse. Our friends at the Oregon Bus Project have demonstrated that debate night can be a delight with their very own "Candidates Gone Wild."
Forget tilted stump speeches and baby-kissing: At CGW, candidates must run the gauntlet to show potential constituents they're not just another bad haircut with a sound tax policy. It's a night of improbably entertaining civics.
Equal parts talk show, talent show and reality show, "Candidates Gone Wild" has packed houses several election cycles in a row, bringing new audience members -- ahem, voters -- in contact with the candidates in a new light.
While this project was born of the uncanny instincts of Bus Project driver Jefferson Smith and a partnership with the local Willamette Week, the beauty of it is that it can be repeated anywhere. Most mid-sized cities have an alternative weekly that would co-host such an event, adding credibility and promotional firepower. Most candidates are desperate to break out of the pack (and to do something besides buy television ads). And most communities are filled with people who have tuned out to packaged commercials and canned phrases...but aren't that hard to pull back into politics.
Yes, you could host your own. It's easier than getting CNN to ask your question for you.
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